Everyone stays at home! Sars-Cov2, known as Covid19, has forced millions of people around the world not to move and stay in their homes. Avoiding contagion, during what may be called one of the worst pandemic in history, has been a prerogative of all. In less than a month our habits have changed, our way of interacting with the world and living it.
Fortunately, technology is our help. Video calls, messaging apps, games, and streaming services make the days at home less heavy and even the distance with friends and loved ones is at least partially canceled.
There has been a boom in messaging apps, used for both smart-working and distance learning (e-learning), and takeaway food apps have also been used a lot. Now here is a list of the 10 most downloaded apps:
1 Ranked first WHO MyHealth The World Health Organization has created an app to combat the spread of fake news about the coronavirus. The new application, announced by WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on his Twitter account, is called WHO MyHealth. It will provide notifications and information about the Covid-19, communicate to those who use it if it is in a high-risk area or if someone in the area has declared to have contracted the virus. There will also be tools to help people self-diagnose if they have symptoms similar to those of coronavirus. Available in English, French, Chinese, Spanish, Arabic and Russian. And it will support COVID-19 Tracker. Useful and free, it allows the user not only to view the spread of coronavirus in every part of the world in real time, but also to auto-report the symptoms if he is positive for the virus.
2. In second place on the podium is Google Meet and Hangouts . Free of charge, they allow you to chat and write instant messages, exactly as it happens for Whatsapp, and make video calls and VoIP calls. Their advantage is that they can be used from multiple devices and also from a PC, by accessing the Gmail box or the Google Chrome extension. In the smartphone version, the app is made up of contacts and chat.
3. Zoom Just like Hangouts, Zoom can be downloaded for free on mobile phones, tablets, and PCs and allows you to make video calls between multiple users – and therefore create real meetings – where you can share your computer screen. Its stock market value during the pandemic period has increased by 300% to surpass General Motors.
4. Teams from Microsoft. The application, functional for those who are in smart working mode these days, is the hub for Office 365 teamwork. Meetings, apps, files, and team conversations: it’s all gathered in a single shared workspace, which you can access anywhere using the mobile device you prefer. Teams facilitate work and relationships between colleagues.
5 Google Classroom. One of the most useful Google apps for distance learning, Classroom helps teachers create and organize assignments quickly, send assessments and comments efficiently, and easily communicate with their classes. Students can use Google Classroom to communicate directly with teachers and classmates and to organize, complete, and deliver their work on Google Drive.
6 Apps for streaming movies and series. Among the most useful apps, there are certainly those that allow you to stream movies and TV series. Two in particular: Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
This app helps to spend long days at home, allowing us to do TV series marathons or preview movies, to watch on smartphones, tablets, computers, and smart TVs. Arrived in Italy on March 24th there is also Disney + which has had an excellent launch and, thanks to the quarantine, people rushed to subscribe
7 HouseParty. Among the most useful free apps in everyday life, there is HouseParty, a social network where you can meet friends online, on video, to party in a virtual house. It works as a group video chat service that allows you to make video calls up to eight people at the same time. It can be considered a “synchronous social network”: communication between users of the same “room” takes place in real-time.
8 Youper. One of the most useful apps to download right now is definitely Youper, which uses artificial intelligence to help people reduce their anxiety levels, manage their mood, and improve their sleep. You can use it by conversing digitally with the app, or to listen to the sounds of sleep, monitor your emotions with the mood tracker, learn more about anxiety and depression and take a personality test to better understand your personality. The application is exclusively in English but it can be an opportunity to keep your knowledge of the language in training.
9 Nike Training Club. Can you stay in shape at home too? Of course yes, thanks to several apps dedicated to fitness. Nike Training Club dedicated to fitness enthusiasts who want to experience intense sessions with many workout options. The application offers 185 free workouts, strength and endurance exercises, yoga, and mobility under the guidance of a renowned Master Trainer. In the coming weeks, in addition, many workouts, nutrition tips, and expert help will arrive on the NTC app, to help you come back stronger than ever.
10 ONE! One of the most downloaded and used apps is the famous card game. You can play Uno but you can also choose to participate in tournaments and events that will offer the opportunity to win prizes and climb the rankings.
This period of quarantine has shown how important and sometimes human interaction and contact are taken for granted; never as in the past in this complex period, technology with its tools has been of help both from a social and working point of view, trying to innovate our ways of communicating and filling gaps whenever possible.